Fence brace



July 1, 1958 c. E. FUNK 2,841,367

FENCE BRACE Filed May 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/Etj.

x Il 7 5 AB fari Ziff-572k lfd/7,' @mmdsm 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTM/anim,l Cari Enl mmdm/m C. E. FUNK FENCE BRACE July 1, 1958 Filed may 14, 1954 July 1, 1958 c. E. FUNK FENCE BRACE Filed May 14, 1954 3 Sheets-Shea?l 3 (fari E ELN/ @md el @ma @figa United States Patent` Oil-ice Patented July i., 1955 FENCE BRACE Carl E. Funk, Earl Park, Ind. Application May 14, 1954, Serial No.' 429,835

8 Claims. (Cl. 256-37) This invention relates to improvements inV a `fence brace for a flexible fence and refers particularly to a fence brace which may be employed to set up quickly and conveniently a fence constructed of flexible 'material such as wire or the like.

In the artV of farming and the utilization of available land to the best advantage, it frequently becomes desir.- able to set o different portions of the land for different purposes at different times of the year. For instance, at a predetermined period of the year it may'be desirable to employ one portion of the'land 'for pasturage purposes, whereas at a different predetermined period of the year said portion of the land may be most eiciently used for other purposes andother portions of'the land may then be best adapted for pasturage purposes. This requires the setting up of fences at di'erentportions of the land and the `dismantling of fences at otherV portions of the land.

The present invention is ideally adapted to render the procedure described hereinbefo're most convenient. For example, a eXible Wire fence may-be-moved most conveniently in rolled form to the situs of a fence andV one end thereof may be anchored; the fence may then be laid out and tensioned and'braced ina-minimum of time witha minimum of labor. To dismantle the' fence, the same procedure, in reverseymay be performed withfequal convenience.

The features, objects and advantagesvof the present inventionv will be more' apparent from'theaccompanying drawings and following detailed description.'

Fig. l is a fragmentary elevational View of a fencesupported and tensionedbymy improved fencebrace.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed sectional View taken' on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed'sectional View taken'on line13-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. l of a modicatio'n lof my invention. Y

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed sectional View 'taken'on line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed sectionalview taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Figs. l and'4 of another modification ofthe invention.v

Fig. 8 is an enlarged .detailed sectional vvievv'taken"on line 8 8 of Fig. 7.'

Fig. 9 is anenlarged'deta'iled sectional View Vtaken on line 9-9of Fig. 7.

Referring in detail to the drawings,l l indicates a flexible fence such asa wire fence having longitudinal tension strands 2 and transverse strands 3; The longitudinal strands 2 are anchored upon a fence bar 4 at their ends, the bar 4 conveniently being of' rectangular section or said bar may assume any desired cross-sectionalVv shape. r:Theoppositeendof the fence 1 is anchored'upon a suitablefixed anchorpost or other rigid support; (not shown).

Atbase; compression lmemberS comprises aportion 'of the' present invention, said compression member being preferably constructed of iron or steel or other metallic material and being of angle section. 0f course, if de- Asi'red, the base compression bar 5 may be of any desired cross-sectional shape. A link 6 having bifurcated ends 7 is pivotally connected at one of its ends to one leg or ange of the angle member 5, said pivotal connection being effected by means of pivot pin S.

The opposite end portion of the base compression bar 5 is secured to an offset lug 9 (Fig. 2) which is secured by means of bolts or the like 1@ to the lower portion of the fence bar 4. The lug 9 is secured to the bar 5 preferably by welding as indicated at 11 in Fig. 2.

The opposite end of link 6 is pivotally connected to one end portion of an upper compression bar 12, said bar being preferably of angle section similar to the bar 5, the pivotal connection between link 6 and bar 12 being eifected by means or" pin 13. The bar 12'at its'opposite end is pivotally secured to the upper portion of the fence bar 4 by means of bolt 14.

Thus, a triangular structure is formed comprising base compression bar 5, upper compression bar 12 and fence bar 4, all of said members being pivotally connected to each other by bolts 1h and 14 and link 6.

Aslidable connecting bar 15 is positioned longitudinally of the base compression bar 5, said bar 1S being embraced between lug 9 and the anges'of the angle member 5. A strap 16, spaced from the lug 9 is secured to the angle member 5 and the bar 15 is slidably positioned within said strap. Thus, the bar 1S is constrained to longitudinal slidable movement in a direction parallel to the length of the base compression bar 5.V

A'rod'17 is pivotally secured to a lug lcarried by the bar 1S. The opposite end of rod 17 extends through link 6 and said end portion of the rod is provided with screw threads 19 with which a nut 20 is engageable, the nut 29`being adapted to bear upon the central portion of link 6.-

An' anchor rod 21 is pivotally connected at one end to the slidable bar 15 and at its opposite end said anchor bar carries an anchor plate 22.

In setting up the fence 1 the remote end of the fence is anchored upon a fixed post or other Xed support (not shown). The fence is then extended in the direction that it is intended to occupy. A chain hitch 23 is secured to the fence bar 4 adjacent its upper and lower end portions and said chain hitch may be secured by means of chain 24- to av tractor or the like (not shown). Hence, when the remote end of the fence 1 has been properly anchored, the tractor exerts force upon the fence bar 4 tending to tension the strands 2 of the fence 1. When the fence bar 4 is thus moved by the tractor the base compression bar and the upper compression bar 12 are moved therewith. When the strands 2 have been' tensioned to a desired degree, a block 25 may be positioned beneath the base bar 5 to hold the end portion of said bar substantially parallel to the ground 26.

A hole is then Vdug in the ground and the anchor rod and anchor plate are securely embedded in theV ground, the nut 20 being positioned adjacent the end of the threads 19 carried by rod 17. After the anchor rod and anchor platehave been securely embedded in the ground, the

nut A20 is tightened so as to bear upon the central portion of theV link 6. This action exerts a compressive force upon the base bar 5 and the upper bar 12 tending to maintain the strands 2 in tension. This compressional force of bars 5 and 12 is resisted by the tension established in'rod 17 and the slidable bar 15. The nut 20 is thus manipulated until a desired tension is produced in the strands 2. Thereafter, the tractor hitch comprising the .chains ZS'and 24 is removed and the fence l will be maintained in desired tension. y

A fence post 27 is then driven into the ground and the end portion of the upper compression bar 12 is tied to the Y fence post 27 is Yto prevent lateral movement of the fence 1. It can readily be seen that the tension of the fencel is ultimately resisted by the anchor rod 21 and anchor plate 22 through the agency of the compression bars 5 and 12 and the tension members 17 and 15.Y

YTo dismantle the fence 1, the reverse procedure is carried out. A tractor or the like may be secured to the Vfence bar 4 by means of chains 23 and 24 and force may be exerted by said tractor until the 'compression in bars 5 and 12 is relieved at which time the nut 20 is moved to the end portion of the rod 17 thus relieving tension upon the anchor rod 21 and anchor plate 22 which Y' is then swung upwardly from its embedded position in the ground.

Referring particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, a modification of` the present invention is shown wherein indicates Y a flexible wire fence having longitudinal tension strands 31 and cross strands 32. The fence 3@ is adapted to be anchored upon a fixed support or post at one end and carries at the opposite end a fence bar 33 to which the tension strands 31 are secured. l

A bracket 34 is secured to the lower end portionof the fence bar 33 and said bracket, inturn, being rigidly secured to agcompression tube 35. Alug 36 is welded to an intermediate portion of the tube 35,'said lug carrying a rod 37 which extends above and parallel to the tube 35. A collar'38slidably embraces tube 35 and terminates in a pair of lugs 39. A pairof compression bars 40 are pivotally secured attheir ends upon the lug 39, said compressionbars being disposed on opposite sides of the fence 30.` At the opposite ends, said compression bars are pivotally secured as at 41 to the upper portion of the fence bar 33.` Y l The rod 37V extends through the slidable collar 38 and embraces the rod 37 and isrcontined between a Washer 44 disposed adjacent the collar 38-and a washer 45 which n is disposed adjacent a nut 46 which, in turn, is threadedly engaged with the threads 42 upon the rod 37.

Thus, a triangle is formed comprising fence bar 33,

the compression bars 40 and the compression tube 35, the

lower ends of the compression bars 40 being resiliently associated with the tube 35 by means of the slidable collar 38 and coil spring 43,'.V

A rod 47 is telescopically positioned within the tube 35,

the end of rod 47 being threaded as indicated at 48 in Fig. 4. VA coil spring 49 embraces rod 47 and is coniined between the outer end of tube 35 and a washer 50 which, in turn, abuts against nut 51 which is threadedly engaged .with threads-48. The opposite end of rod 47 terminates in a relatively at bar 52 which is pivotally secured to pin 53 which, in turn, is carried by the bifurcated end 54 'of anchor rod 55. The anchor rod 55 Ycarries at its outer end an anchor plate 56 which, as will be hereinafter more fully described, is adaped to beburied in the ground. 'A

In utilizing this form of the invention the fence 30 is anchored Vto a fixedY post or support (not shown) at oneY end and at the opposite end, the fence bar 33 is secured to chainsY 57. Chain 58 connects with the chains 57"and compressed spring 49 thus tends to urge tube 35 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 4 thereby establishing a stress of Vcompression in the tube 35. Simultaneously, the lug 36 .Y

tends to move toward the left thereby tending to compressspring 43 whichrbears upon collar 38 andestablishes a stress of compression in the compression bars 40. In this fashion aV force is exerted upon the fence bar 33 tending to tension the strands 31 of the fence 30. This force is essentially sustained iby the anchor rodV and anchor: plate 56 and the tension of the Vfence 301s brought to a'V desired degree by the proper manipulation of the nuts 46 and'51. By the provisionof the slidable arrangement of collar 38 upon the tube 35, the upper portion of the fence maybe adjusted independently of the'lower por-V tion thereof. However, in the ideal conditionall longif tudinal strands 31 of the fence 30 Yshould be tensioned equally. Y Y

After the tension of the fence 30 has been sustainedrby the anchor rod 55'ar1d anchor plate 56, the chains 57 are` dsconnectedfrom'the fence bar 33. A collar V64) is pivotally connected to the upper portion of thefence bar 33 and a fence'post 61 is positioned within said collar, the

lower end of the fence postrbeing driven into the ground 59. The'fence post 61 does not sustain any of the ten-V sion of the fence 30 but merely prevents lateral movement of the fence, that is, it maintains the fence in a substantially vertical plane.

To disassemble the fence '730, the performed, that is, the nuts51 and 46 are loosened and the anchor is removed from the ground, the fence post 61 being previously removed from'the ground.

Referring particularly to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, a modiiicai tion of the present invention Visrshown'rwherein 62 indicates a flexible wire fence having longitudinal tension strands 63 and cross strands 64. The fence 62 is adapted to be anchored upon: a fixed support or post (not shown) at one end and carries at the opposite end a fence bar 65'to which the Vtension strands 63 are secured. A com- Y' carries screw threads 42Y at its end. A coil spring 43 Y Y n of a bolt 68 or the like,rthe keeper'deining wlthrthe Y pression member 66 is -secured atV one endto the lower end portion of the fence bar 65, said compression mem-VV Y angle iron a guide space 69 (Fig. 8).

A guide collar 70 is rigidly secured to an intermediateV portion Yof the compression member 66 and a rod V'7,1 is

adapted to be loosely positioned'within the guide collar.

An end portion of the rod 71 carries lscrew threads'V 72r which are adapted to be engaged by an adjusting nut 73.

may be secured to atractor (not shown).V The tractorl which is connected to chain 58 may be operated to applyv tensiontothe fence 30 until a desired .degree of tension press springY 49 which applies tension to thel'od 47. g Th@ The opposite end portion of the rod 71 is looped upon itself to form an eye 74, the rodV proper *andV the loopedV end thereof being adaptedwto be disposed Withinthe guide space 69.` An anchorrod 75 is pivotally'secured to the eye 74 andcarries at its end `auranchor member 76.

An upper angle iron 77 'is pivotally secured as at 78V in Fig. 1 to the upper portion of the fence bar 65. The

lower end portion of the angle iron 77 is pivotally con-V nected to a pair of links 79, said links embracing a ange portion of the angle iron and being pivotally secured thereto by means of pivot pin 80. The opposite ends Y offsaid links embrace the flange portion of the compres-I sion member 66 and are pivotally securedy thereto by means .ofpivot pin 81. A lug 82 is rigidly mounted upon theilange of` the compression member 66 and said lug carries at its upper end a guide collar V83. A rod 84 is loosely positioned in the guide collar 83,V said rod Vcarrying screw threads 85 which are adapted to be engaged, by an adjusting nut 86. The'opposite end of the rod 84 is pivotally connected between the links 79,1 being pivotally secured to Vsaid links intermediate their length by means of pivot pin 87..

In Vassenslblinglthe fence brace illustratedin Figs.r7, 8z

and 9 a chain hitch 88 issecured to the fence bar -65 and ,theopposite end thereof is secured to a tractor or 'Y reverseV operation is` other tensioning means.` (not shown). The oppositeend of the fence 62 is secured to a fixed support aslhas been hereinbefore described and tension is applied to the hitch 8S whereby the longitudinal strands 63 of the fence are brought into tension.

Initially, the nut 73 engaged upon the rod 71 is disposed adjacent the extreme end of said rod. When a desired degree of tension has been exerted upon the fense 62, the rod 7l is moved until the -nut 73 contacts the guide collar 70. The anchor 76 is then buried firmly in the ground. The nut 73 is then manipulated to apply tension to the rod 71 which tends to apply tension to the fence 62. Eventually, the tension applied by the manipulation of the nut 73 eliminates the necessity for the tension applied to the hitch S8 and said hitch is removed from the fence bar 65.

It is desirable that the upper and lower tension strands 63 of the fence 62 be placed in the same degree of tension. This can be done by properly manipulating the nut 86. If the nut 86 is so turned as to effectively shorten the rod 34, that is, to rock the links 79 in a counter clockwise direction asA viewed in Fig. 7, compression is imparted to the angle iron 77 and hence the upper strands 63 of the fence have their tension increased. If the upper strands of the fence are initially under greater tension than the lower strands'thereof, the tension of said upper strands may be relieved by the proper manipulation of the nut 86 to effectively lengthen the rod 84. Thus, the relative tension of the upper and lower strands of the fence 62 may be adjusted independently of the over-all fence tension by the manipulation of the nut 86 and the swinging of the links 79.

When the fence 62 has been properly tensioned and the upper and lower strands have their tensions equalized, a fence post 89 is driven into the ground and the end of the angle iron 77 and the looped end of the rod 71 is secured to the fence post by means of a wire wrapping 90. As in the case with the other forms of the present invention, the fence post 89 does not sustain tension of the fence but merely prevents lateral displacement of the fence.

In disassembling the fence and fence brace illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 it is merely necessary to manipulate nut 73 so as to effectively lengthen rod 71 thus relieving tension in said rod. When said tension has been effectively relieved the anchor 76 is removed from the ground.

It can readily be seen that in all forms of the present invention a fence brace is contemplated which permits the quick and convenient setting up of a fence and also permits the dismantling of the fence in a minimum period of time and with a minimum expenditure of effort.

I claim as my invention:

l. A fence brace for a exible fence, comprising a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured, a compression member secured at one end to the lower portion of the fence bar on a predetermined side thereof, an upper compression member Asecured at one end to the upper portion of the fence bar on the same side of said fence bar, an anchor for substantially immovable disposition in the ground on the opposite side of said fence bar, a tension member connected at one end to said anchor, movable means connecting the end portions of said compression members together remote from said fence bar, and adjustable means connecting the opposite end of said tension member to said movable means.

2. A fence brace for a flexible fence, comprising a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured, a substantially horizontally disposed compression member secured at one end to the lower portion of the fence bar, an upper inclined compression member secured at one end to the upper portion of the fence bar, said compression members being disposed in a plane parallel to and adjacent said fence, an anchor for substantially -immovable disposition in -the ground, a tension member connected at one end to said anchor, a portion of said tension member being .disposed between said compression members, means connecting portions of said compression members together for limited relative movement therebetween remote from said fence bar, and adjustable means connecting the opposite end of said tension member to said compression members connecting means. Y

3. A fence brace for a flexible fence, comprising a fence har to which an end portion of the fence is secured, a iower compression member secured at one end to the lower portion of said fence bar,A anv upper compression member secured at one end to an upper portion of the fence bar, an anchor for substantially i. movable disposition in the ground, a tension member pivotally secured at one end to said anchor, alink pivotally connecting the oppositeend portions of said compression members together, and adjustable means connecting the opposite end of said tension member to said link.

4. A fence brace for a fieXible fence, comprising a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured, a lower compression member secured at one end to the lower portion of said fence bar, anupper compression member secured at one end to an upper portion of the fence bar, an anchor for substantially immovable disposition in the ground, a bar slidably carried upon said lower compression member and pivotally connected at one end to said anchor, a tension rod connected at one end to said slidable bar, a link pivotally connecting the opposite end portions of said compression members, the opposite end of said tension rod being longitudinali movable with respect to said link, and means carried by said tension bar and bearing upon said link for changing the effective length of said tension rod relative to said link and said slidable bar.

5. A fence brace for a flexible fence, comprising a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured, a lower compression member secured at one end to the lower portion of said fence bar, an upper compression member secured at one end to an upper portion of the fence bar, an anchor for substantially immovable disposition in the ground, a tension member connected at one end to said anchor, resilient means interposed between the opposite end of said tension member and the opposite end of said lower compression member, resilient means interposed between said lower compression member and the opposite end of said upper compression member, means carried by said tension member for changing the resilience of said first-mentioned resilient means to change the compressive stress in said lower compression member and to change the tensile stress in said tension member, and separate means carried by said lower compression member for changing the resilience of said second-mentioned resilient means to change the compressive stresses in both of said compression members.

6. A fence brace for a flexible fence comprising, a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured, a tubular member Secured at one end to the lower portion of the fence bar, a compression bar secured at one end to the upperend portion of the fence bar, a collar slidably positioned upon said tubular member, the opposite end of said compression bar being secured to said collar, resilient means carried by said tubular member and bearing upon said collar to urge resiliently said compression bar toward said fence bar, an anchor for substantially immovable disposition in the ground, a tension bar secured at one end to said anchor, and resilient means interposed between the opposite end of said tension bar and the opposite end of the tubular member to tension said tension bar and compress said tubular member.

7. A fence brace for a flexible fence comprising, a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured, aitubular member secured at one end to the lower end portion of the Vfence bar, a compression bar secured at one endtoA the upper end portion of the fence'bar, a collar slidablyfpositioned upon said tubular member, the opposite end of said compression bar being.

secured toV said collar, resilient means carried by said tubular member and bearing -upon said collar to urge Y resiliently said compression bar toward saidV fence bar,

means carried by said tubular member and bearing on said resilient means for changing the resilience of said resilient means, an anchor for substantially immovable disposition in the groundfa tension bar secured at one end tosaid anchor, resilient means interposed between the opposite end of said tension bar and the'opposite end of the tubular member to tension said tension bar and compress said tubular member and means carried by said tension bar and bearing on saidy last-mentioned resilientV Y means for changing the resilience of said lastmentioned Y resilient means.

8. A fence brace for a llexible fence, Vcomprising a fence bar to which an end portion of the fence is secured,

a compression member secured at one end to the lower portion of the fence bar, an upper compression member secured at one end to the upper portion of the fence bar, an anchor Vfor substantially immovable disposition in the ground, a tension member connected at one end to said anchor, and adjustable means connecting the oppositeend of said tensionmember toV portions of said compression members spaced from said fence ba.rsaid adjustable means Ycomprising a guide collar carried vby said lower compression member through which said tension member is positioned, means carried Yby said tension member and bearing upon said guide collar for moving said tension member relative to said lower compression t member, a second guide collar carried by said lower com- Y pression member, a linkpivotally connecting said upper and lower compression members, and adjustable tension means connecting saidl second `guide collar and said link together to move said upper tension member relative to said lower tension member.

References Cited inthe le of thispatent UNTTED STATES PATENTS 

